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Newbie

lisa jane 01

lisa jane 01

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Hi, I only found out this week that I’m type 2 diabetic . The biggest shock was that my old doctor did blood tests TWO years ago and never told me of the results.
My new surgery rang me and told me, having blood tests in a week to find out my levels.
Any advice, as this is all new to me .
 
Hello @lisa jane 01 , and nice to have you on the forum! If you read around, you'll find that lots of people have had problems with health care proffesionals. That sucks (is that a bad word in English? I'm not completely sure. If it is, feel free to moderate, admins), but the good thing is that you know now and are ready to do something with your diagnosis :)

I'll tag @daisy1 for you. She'll be along soon with a very informative pack of information.

Other advice I can give you is to take your time, read around, ask any question you have and before all, be kind to yourself and have patience. You cannot learn everything in a day or a week or even a month.

Good luck!
 
You need to ask them what they're relying upon to draw that conclusion as it's far from clear
 
lisa jane 01 said:
I agree Mike D, I will have lots of questions when I go for my blood test and follow up meeting with the diabetic nurse
Click to expand...

One tip from me. Ask for a print out of your blood test results, and see if you can also have the print outs from the previous ones done by your old surgery. They should all be available, and you are entitled to them. If you are in England your test results may be on-line, so you can ask about this and how to register. You really need to know this information.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
One tip from me. Ask for a print out of your blood test results, and see if you can also have the print outs from the previous ones done by your old surgery. They should all be available, and you are entitled to them. If you are in England your test results may be on-line, so you can ask about this and how to register. You really need to know this information.
Click to expand...

I am in England, I will ask for them.
Thank you
 
They may have been OK two years ago. No doubt next week will be full blood workup including HbA1c. That will give a clearer picture.

Oh, and welcome aboard. You're lucky you found a good place so early in the journey.
Glenn
 
@lisa jane 01

Hello Lisa Jane and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Welcome to the forum. We're here to help answer questions or point you in the right direction if we can.
 
Hello Everyone: Firstly this is my first post, so I don't really know what I am doing, and secondly I have been reading the forum since Oct last year and I think it great. Anyway...
I was diagnosed T2 in 2010 at age 58 and up till about 18 months ago, Metformin and diet did the trick. But then I started feeling very unwell, and the HbA1C thing, running at around 50 every 6 months, has steadily risen to 90 at the last check. I have moved from Metformin to Dapagliflozin for a while, and am currently on maximum Gliclazide. I am testing daily, and the fasting values are 11-15 in the morning and the "random" day values requested by my nurse are 12 to 22. My nurse is talking about going to insulin. My high levels often correspond to my "feeling bad days" though not always. So a few questions:
1) Why the sudden change after 5+ years of no problems with metformin? My doctor doesn't know the answer.
2) Why the large variation? (You may be thinking "it must be diet" but I do try to control it and was, as I say, successful for a number of years). Again, the health professionals don't know.
3) How does a fixed level of medication address a varying day-to-day level of blood sugar? Or is that why insulin has come into the discussion? (I just thought of that one!)
4) Do my levels suggest the feeling very unwell is T2 related? I have checked on this site, and I do have a few of the symptoms such as very dry mouth, incredible thirst, no appetite, rashes on my legs that won't heal and such like. I am also having violent, though very short term (a matter of a minute or two), headaches.
I wonder if anyone could answer these questions, or suggest anything, or even just share any similar experiences? I do feel a bit lost with it all. I know it is an insulin thread (a medication that I am not currently using), but I wondered if anyone here migrated to insulin, and whether they could comment?
Many thanks to anyone taking the trouble to read this. If I have posted to the wrong place, or inappropriately, please accept my apologies. And best wishes to everyone with T1 or T2.
 
@scaramouchethefool
Hi and welcome to the forum, first let me say we are not medically qualified to give you specific advice as we don't know your medical history, but I'm sure we can help in some respects.
I have been on Insulin from diagnosis, as I'm unable to take any tablets, at first on fixed doses but now on basal/ bolus injections so have not any experience on migration, I will try to answer some of your other questions though.
1) You may have become Insulin resistant as Gliclazide encourages the pancreas to produce insulin, the bigger the dose the more insulin, I don't know how long the pancreas can continue to produce insulin in the amount your body needs, so it maybe its not producing enough anymore.
2) Metformin can only do so much it all depends on the person.
3) Fixed doses can and do work for many people, though some find better control by splitting the doses taking some in the morning and some in the evening, again it varies from person to person.
4) This is a hard one, my own experience has shown if I have high sugars I feel yukky, headachy, thirsty, moody and generally off with the world, I don't have the rashes though. The only way know definitively is to test when this happens.

I'm going to tag in @DCUKMod to maybe give you your own thread where you will hopefully get more answers
 
Can you give a bit more detail about the diet which worked for you at first?
I'm afraid that many people are put onto diets which still involve carbohydrate - and diabetes is all about being unable to deal with carbohydrates, sugars and starches.
 
First, many thanks to satindoll and Resurgam for taking the time and trouble to reply!

To try and answer your questions/comments:
1) When I feel yukky, it sometimes corresponds to a high but not always. When I was around 25 I started having issues with all the symptoms of a "low" which lasted around an hour or two, but at the time I was not diabetic (and not on any medication) and I hadn't a clue then what it was. After a while, I found out (by accident) that eating a "digestive biscuit" or three and just crashing out sorted it fairly quickly. It was only when my wife was diagnosed T2 so many years later and I read about "hypos" that I realised I may have been getting them infrequently for 30 years, so I tested using her kit when I got such a turn and sure enough, my levels were around 1.7 to 2. It seems that perhaps 5 or 6 times a year, my sugar was suddenly dropping for some reason - this was before I was diagnosed with HIGH blood sugar and started medication for it. Is this relevant? I don't know! Lows happen much less frequently now, thank goodness.
2) My diet, such as it is, excludes ALL sugar except that which you cannot avoid as in fruits. I do not eat pineapple, but I do eat a pack of melon slices a day, and do an apple and banana on some days. I check any pack I am thinking of buying to ensure low sugars and saturated fats. I do eat a couple of slices of bread every 3 days or so with a slice of cooked meat inside. I have a chicken breast in white rice once a week (I know the rice is not ideal). I don't eat pasta. I can only eat when hungry, so I only eat in the evening. (Yes, my diabetes nurse tells me off severely for that!) and I do regularly go the whole day fasting. I have a few treats such as a pot of porridge sweetened with granulated sweetener, perhaps 3 times a week or so. Maybe that is unwise? To be honest, the only recent dietary change (last 18 months) is the reduction in the amount I am eating - I used to be a real pig I am afraid, but cannot do it now! In fact, I think in the years when metformin was working well, I was probably LESS careful about my diet than I am now.

Reading what I put down as diet has made me think that could be the issue. I thought I was doing right, but maybe not. Sorry to waffle on for so long. All the best!
 
@scaramoucethefool I think you need to go back to basics. There are some foods you are having which I couldn't tolerate. I think you need to test after eating something to see how it impacts on your readings.
 
scaramouchethefool said:
My diet, such as it is, excludes ALL sugar except that which you cannot avoid as in fruits. I do not eat pineapple, but I do eat a pack of melon slices a day, and do an apple and banana on some days. I check any pack I am thinking of buying to ensure low sugars and saturated fats. I do eat a couple of slices of bread every 3 days or so with a slice of cooked meat inside. I have a chicken breast in white rice once a week (I know the rice is not ideal). I don't eat pasta. I can only eat when hungry, so I only eat in the evening. (Yes, my diabetes nurse tells me off severely for that!) and I do regularly go the whole day fasting. I have a few treats such as a pot of porridge sweetened with granulated sweetener, perhaps 3 times a week or so. Maybe that is unwise?
Click to expand...

I have highlighted some of your food choices in red that you need to be very careful with. They are full of sugar in one form or another.

Structured, organised testing will help you.
Test immediately before you eat
Test again 1 and 2 hours after first bite
Look at the difference between before and after - and keep this as low as you can. It should be under 2mmol/l at 2 hours, and preferably a lot less.
Keep a food diary including portion sizes
Record your levels alongside the food and look for patterns.
Adjust your carbs accordingly.
It is also a good plan to test 90 minutes after first bite as well as 1 and 2 hours to try to find the highest peak. Sometimes the peak may come after 2 hours. It all depends on the contents of the meal and your own metabolism.

Fruit is not a good choice for diabetics. The fructose plays havoc with our livers, and is a major contributor to fatty liver and insulin resistance. Tropical fruits such as bananas are the worst. A banana is instant glucose. Berries are the best (strawberries/raspberries in small quantities and eaten with cream or full fat yogurt as part of a meal. Fruit shouldn't be eaten alone as a snack, always as part of a meal.

There is no need to avoid fat.
 
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Thanks for this. I should have remembered bananas are used by tennis players for an instant boost. I shall cut out the fruit in that form, maybe there is a better form? Anyway the advice about testing and a food diary is great. I shall commence straight away. Where I have previously tried to match up the results with what I ate, there didn't seem to be much correlation, but I'll see if I can be rigidly fixed in how I do it. I will do the additional tests as described by bluetit1802. Give me a few days to get some results that I can share with you guys!
 
There is some evidence that green ( ie under ripe) bananas are relatively high in resistant starch and relatively low in sugar / quick release carbs so dont produce the same spikes as ripe bananas ( the yellower the banana the higher the sugar content,brown spckley ones being the worst) Ive only tried 1/3 of a green banana so far but it didnt produce any spike whereas I only have to look at a ripe one to spike
 
Sorry for the delay, I couldn't find the thread. Anyway...

I have cut out all fruits, rice, and am sticking to only those foods with "Carbs per 100g = 5g or less". Is this a good plan? (BTW some foods are labelled "Carbs per 100g = 50g of which Sugars = 3g". Are these good or bad? I do avoid them just in case.)

I am now ranging between 9 and 16 on the meter, with just an occasional spike to 20, which is a significant improvement, so thanks to everyone who educated me as it seems I couldn't educate myself. I cannot find anything which specifically cause the higher values. (Or indeed, the lower). I did the suggested check immediately before eating, and at 60, 90 and 120 minutes after. The readings changed from 11.2 (before) to 11.6 to 11.4 to 12.5 over that period. (The meal was stir fry chicken breast with beansprouts in a splash of vegetable oil). I shall ask my nurse to avoid going to insulin for the time being, I see her Monday. I think I said my last Hba1c was 90, I have another test in a month or so and am looking for a significant reduction.

Thanks to all!
 
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